Kenne Bell 2.8 on 402/AFR 225/Long Tube- H2
04-10-2007, 12:12 AM
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Kenne Bell 2.8 on 402/AFR 225/Long Tube- H2
Commentary Part 1:
This is a kick *** kit
I bought the 2.8 tuner kit. KB doesn't make a kit for the H2 so I bought the tuner kit for the 2004 Silverado. A few parts disn't exactly fit... but that's obvious. I knew I would have to adapt a few items. Anyway, the tuner kit is actually everything you need to install the blower EXCEPT Injectors, fuel pump, and tuning. This is not a stripped down kit. It really had everything else you would need to install on a Silverado.
It has pretty good instructions but I have to rate them lower than those accompanying the Radix. rated the instructions second place to the Magnacharger Radix only because the Radix had color printing which naturally helps with install as everything is easier to identify.
Like the Radix, everyhting in the kit came separately bagged according to the subassembly it belonged to.
Unlike the Radix, the blower unit is not attached to the intercooler base manifold. At first I though this was a pain... but at install time I really appreciated it. This is because placing the Radix on a tall truck like the H2 is a potential hernia waiting to happen. Absolutely required two people to place in on the engine. With the KB, you only have to place the intercooled base first. Then you install the fuel rails and hoses, and finally the blower unit. Due to this required assembly... I was able to do it all alone. Without getting a hernia!
More to follow...
This is a kick *** kit
I bought the 2.8 tuner kit. KB doesn't make a kit for the H2 so I bought the tuner kit for the 2004 Silverado. A few parts disn't exactly fit... but that's obvious. I knew I would have to adapt a few items. Anyway, the tuner kit is actually everything you need to install the blower EXCEPT Injectors, fuel pump, and tuning. This is not a stripped down kit. It really had everything else you would need to install on a Silverado.
It has pretty good instructions but I have to rate them lower than those accompanying the Radix. rated the instructions second place to the Magnacharger Radix only because the Radix had color printing which naturally helps with install as everything is easier to identify.
Like the Radix, everyhting in the kit came separately bagged according to the subassembly it belonged to.
Unlike the Radix, the blower unit is not attached to the intercooler base manifold. At first I though this was a pain... but at install time I really appreciated it. This is because placing the Radix on a tall truck like the H2 is a potential hernia waiting to happen. Absolutely required two people to place in on the engine. With the KB, you only have to place the intercooled base first. Then you install the fuel rails and hoses, and finally the blower unit. Due to this required assembly... I was able to do it all alone. Without getting a hernia!
More to follow...
Last edited by CHarris; 04-10-2007 at 12:24 AM.
04-10-2007, 12:23 AM
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Commentary part 2
The intercooler in the manifold base is thicker than the Radix. In fact, the heat exchanger in the grille is thicker too. Its even thicker than the upgrade Radix heat exchanger. This is obviously better. The intercooler core (under the blower) and heat exchanger (in the grille) appeared to be the same thickness. This is also nice.
The coolant pump is similar to the Radix. Can't tell if its better or not... but it is slightly more compact. I sort of think the hose routing is better on the KB... but this may be a H2 install only thing. I think the hose routing on the Radix may have contributed to the pump failure I had. On the KB the hoses are 3/4 inch and the rouing supports better easy curves and straighter lengths.
The coolant pump is similar to the Radix. Can't tell if its better or not... but it is slightly more compact. I sort of think the hose routing is better on the KB... but this may be a H2 install only thing. I think the hose routing on the Radix may have contributed to the pump failure I had. On the KB the hoses are 3/4 inch and the rouing supports better easy curves and straighter lengths.
Keep us updated 
04-10-2007, 12:34 AM
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Commentary part 3
It took me about 40 hours to install the kit. Again... this is not made for an H2. I had to relocate a lot of things. Typically, if one thing needed another inch or so space... this caused a ripple effect and resulted in several things moving. I won't bore you with the details as they are not relevant. I took a long time as I was thoughfully considering casue and effect of everything I did on the truck. I spent a lot of time looking and theorizing I made things fit to my satisfaction that will be apparent in the pics I post later.
Once I worked through all my challenges... none of which were truly difficult to beat, I was left with one thing I could not solve alone. My accessory belt was misaligned which resulted in the blower continually making the belt jump one groove forward. This was a pain in the butt. It reminded me of the Radix misalignment issue I had that resulted in the belt actually coming off. The radix problem was related to a poorly aligned idler pulley on the Radix kit. That one was solved with me getting a spacer machined. The KB issue was solved by KB tech. They sent me a a spacer for the blower drive pulley that moved the pulley out exactly one belt groove. It was fixed perfectly and the part was shipped for FREE. Excellent service. Again, you can see why I doubt much of the KB naysayers.
I made things fit to my satisfaction that will be apparent in the pics I post later. Once I worked through all my challenges... none of which were truly difficult to beat, I was left with one thing I could not solve alone. My accessory belt was misaligned which resulted in the blower continually making the belt jump one groove forward. This was a pain in the butt. It reminded me of the Radix misalignment issue I had that resulted in the belt actually coming off. The radix problem was related to a poorly aligned idler pulley on the Radix kit. That one was solved with me getting a spacer machined. The KB issue was solved by KB tech. They sent me a a spacer for the blower drive pulley that moved the pulley out exactly one belt groove. It was fixed perfectly and the part was shipped for FREE. Excellent service. Again, you can see why I doubt much of the KB naysayers.
Last edited by CHarris; 04-10-2007 at 12:39 AM.
04-10-2007, 12:57 AM
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Commentary part 4
The blower shipped with a 4 inch pulley installed. That's right -4 inches! This yielded about 6 psi. I drove around on this for about a week to ensure everything was sorted out. I did not have single issue. Tuning was much easier than the Radix touchups I did previously. The Kenne Bell due to its size, is much more linear in airflow and thus also linear in fueling requirements.
After the first week it was time to move on. I had purchased a 3.5 inch pulley with the kit and it was time to install it.
This is a good time to mention a really nice feature of the KB kit that simply smokes the Radix. This feature is the plate that holds the required additional idler pulley that helps belt wrap on the Blower drive. On the Radix, it is a great upgrade to spend about $100 to get a metco 100mm pulley to get better belt wrap on the blower drive. On the KB, the idler is much smaller.. but has three possible mounting holes to get more or less wrap on the blower drive and also to use more or less belt as you change pullies on the blower. This is awesome. It's a great idea and saves you money on belts! Don't
worry... I have a picture to share later.
Back to the 3.5 inch pulley.... this one yields 9 psi on my combo. To get 9psi from a 3.5 pulley on a high flowing 402 is awesome. I still have many pulley steps left! As I suspected, I have lots of headroom left. Much like the 4 inch pulley... power is really linear. I had to take a little more fuel out but otherwise no changes required. I'd tell you what my timing is... but I want to save that for a little later.
Definitely more to come..... but not tonight.
After the first week it was time to move on. I had purchased a 3.5 inch pulley with the kit and it was time to install it.
This is a good time to mention a really nice feature of the KB kit that simply smokes the Radix. This feature is the plate that holds the required additional idler pulley that helps belt wrap on the Blower drive. On the Radix, it is a great upgrade to spend about $100 to get a metco 100mm pulley to get better belt wrap on the blower drive. On the KB, the idler is much smaller.. but has three possible mounting holes to get more or less wrap on the blower drive and also to use more or less belt as you change pullies on the blower. This is awesome. It's a great idea and saves you money on belts! Don't
worry... I have a picture to share later.
Back to the 3.5 inch pulley.... this one yields 9 psi on my combo. To get 9psi from a 3.5 pulley on a high flowing 402 is awesome. I still have many pulley steps left! As I suspected, I have lots of headroom left. Much like the 4 inch pulley... power is really linear. I had to take a little more fuel out but otherwise no changes required. I'd tell you what my timing is... but I want to save that for a little later.
Definitely more to come..... but not tonight.
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04-11-2007, 06:34 PM
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Originally Posted by Z06 DREAMING
Awesome deal man. 9psi on a 402 w/ big heads and headers is great!
What was your overall consencious on the Vic Jr.? Why did you stray from that so soon?
What was your overall consencious on the Vic Jr.? Why did you stray from that so soon?
It was good intake set up and cost effective. I just can't use it now. If you can use one... I definitely recommend getting one over the stock intake.